Tag: Calligraphy

Posted on

Celebrate Spring Festival 2023 with Cultural Keys!

Special occasions call for special celebrations!

Spring Festival, also known as Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year, is the main festival in the Chinese calendar. It is traditionally 15 days long with celebrations starting on the last day of the lunar calendar (Spring Festival Eve, January 21st 2023) and ending with the Lantern Festival (February 5th 2023). It’s the perfect opportunity for themed events, so if you’d like to plan a celebration but don’t know where to begin, Cultural Keys can help! 

Continue reading “Celebrate Spring Festival 2023 with Cultural Keys!”

Posted on

Photos from our recent Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Workshop!

Last week Cultural Keys was pleased to welcome Wen Meng Xin from China News to our culture centre! Wen Meng Xin spent the day with us learning about what we do, as well as interviewing our co-founder AJ Donnelly. We also held a free calligraphy and painting class so she could get footage of some typical events.

See some pictures of the event below!

Continue reading “Photos from our recent Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Workshop!”

Posted on

China’s Luckiest Character: 福 – 2022 Edition!

At Spring Festival there are many ways to decorate, but one of the most common is to paste the character ‘fu’, 福, on doors and windows. There is evidence that this custom dates back to the Song dynasty (AD 960 – 1279).

福 is pronounced fú and means ‘blessings’. It is traditionally handwritten in black or gold ink by itself on square red paper, with the corners pointing in the directions of the compass, and it is hung up facing outwards to keep bad luck away and bring good luck to the home. It is often hung with other decorations, such as couplets and red lanterns.

Read on to learn about this auspicious character and see some more examples!

Continue reading “China’s Luckiest Character: 福 – 2022 Edition!”

Posted on

Chinese Cultural Events in Beijing – October 2021

While Cultural Keys can be considered your go-to for a variety of traditional Chinese culture activities, there are of course plenty of other fun and interesting cultural events happening around the capital every month!

Here’s our round-up of activities connected with traditional Chinese culture for October in Beijing!

Please note: Cultural Keys is in no way affiliated with any of the events or organisations listed in this article, unless explicitly stated. We offer no guarantee about the quality of any 3rd party events, and strongly suggest interested participants to contact the relevant organizers to clarify event details before attending.

Continue reading “Chinese Cultural Events in Beijing – October 2021”

Posted on

Create your own calligraphy masterpiece with Cultural Keys!

If there was one art form that best exemplifies traditional China, particularly the golden ages of the Tang and Song dynasties, it would be calligraphy. 

Although calligraphy is now thought of as an art form, traditionally it was much more – a way to cultivate personal character. It was considered essential for any cultured person to be skilled in calligraphy (as well as the related skill, painting).

Read on to find out how you can experience this beautiful art form on our next calligraphy workshop!

Continue reading “Create your own calligraphy masterpiece with Cultural Keys!”